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Preparation and Friction Force Microscopy Measurements of Immiscible, Opposing Polymer Brushes
Published on: December 24, 2014
Adhesion and friction mechanisms of polymer-on-polymer surfaces
Nobuo Maeda1, Nianhuan Chen, Matthew Tirrell
1Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Abstract:
The adhesion and friction of smooth polymer surfaces were studied below the glass transition temperature by use of a surface forces apparatus. The friction force of a crosslinked polymer was orders of magnitude less than that of an uncrosslinked polymer. In contrast, after chain scission of the outermost layers, the adhesion hysteresis and friction forces increase substantially. These results show that polymer-polymer adhesion hysteresis and friction depend on the dynamic rearrangement of the outermost polymer segments at shearing interfaces, and that both increase as a transition is made from crosslinked surfaces to surfaces with long chains to surfaces with quasi-free ends. The results suggest new ways for manipulating the adhesion and friction of polymer surfaces by adjusting the state of the surface chains.
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